How Sales Teams Can Beat the Winter Blues

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

This stirring mantra forms a sort of unofficial motto for the U.S. postal service. One can picture intrepid Pony Express riders braving every sort of weather, as well as buffalo stampedes, flash floods, highway robbery, and other hazards of the Wild West.

But in fact, that description of the brave and unstoppable courier goes back even further than the establishment of the U.S. Postal Service in 1792. In fact, it's actually 2500 years old. It comes from a description by the Greek historian Herodotus of the courier service in the Persian Empire.

As sales professionals, we won’t let ourselves be upstaged by the ancient Persians or the Pony Express, will we? Sure, winter can be a little rough, but with proper preparation and the right mindset, it can also be a productive time of year for your sales team.

Keep Holiday Schedules in Mind

Help your sales team plan ahead and realize that their holiday pipeline should be managed a little differently from normal. Remind them to ask early whether prospects will be out of the office for significant periods of time during the holidays, and adjust their sales cycle planning accordingly.

Be sure to have your sales team follow up after their prospects return from vacations to make sure they stay on the radar. Not all prospects will want to rush into a deal before the end of the year, but some will welcome the opportunity to tie up the loose ends early. So remind your team to do their best to close deals before Christmas, but also be open to getting back in January if that's a better fit for their prospects.

Dress for Success

Received wisdom in the lands of the far north is that "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing."

Even if your sales representatives are just walking from the heated car to a heated building, remind them to dress for the weather. And be prepared for unexpected weather, like rain or snow. If they keep an umbrella and/or raincoat in the car, unexpected bad weather won’t send them scurrying home.

Winter is also an excellent time to pair the mid-day attitude check with a nice warm cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or even soup. It's surprising how much getting warm and toasty on a cold day can improve the mood.

Safety First

Winter is the season for worker's compensation claims. The top two causes for worker's compensation claims are traffic accidents and slips, trips, and falls. Both are more likely to happen during the winter. To prevent serious injuries and lost work time, dedicate a few sales meetings during the winter months to the topic of safety.

Remind your sales representatives about basic road safety, especially during the winter. Educate them about how to avoid accidents on wet or icy pavements, both in the car and when walking.

Hopefully these tips will help your sales team have a safe, warm, and productive winter. For help with organizing your sales program, call Netpique today!